Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

July 24 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Tuesday:

** Telecom Italia will press ahead with the sale of its stake in broadcasting unit Persidera while considering broader strategic options for the group’s various subsidiaries.

** Kenya’s central bank said on Tuesday it would enter talks with KCB Bank Kenya Ltd, the country’s biggest bank by assets, to buy Imperial Bank, a small lender that has been in receivership for nearly three years.

** Albania’s Balfin Group has agreed to buy Kosovo’s sole ferro-nickel producer Newco Ferronikeli in a rescue deal aimed at restoring operations that were halted when the heavily indebted company ran into financial difficulties.

** Britain is planning the biggest change to takeover rules in almost two decades, giving the government new powers to block deals in all sectors of the economy to prevent UK companies in sensitive industries from falling into foreign hands.

** Shares of Idea Cellular Ltd surged 16.6 percent to their highest in over a month on Tuesday, after the operator paid the department of telecommunications money it had demanded relating to its merger with Vodafone’s India unit.

** Minerva SA, South America’s largest beef exporter, does not intend to acquire rival BRF SA or the company’s assets, an executive said on Tuesday.

** Fosun International Ltd is considering an offer for parts or the whole of Belgian insurer Ageas, in a move that would expand the Chinese conglomerate’s international footprint, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

** Occidental Petroleum Corp is exploring a sale of its pipeline assets, hoping to fetch more than $5 billion and free up capital to invest in exploration and production as oil prices rebound, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

** Synovus Financial Corp said on Tuesday it would buy a Florida-based bank for $2.9 billion to boost its deposits and become one of the leading lenders in the U.S. Southeast region.

** British shopping centre operator Hammerson aims to exit its out-of-town retail parks business as part an overhaul to calm shareholder unrest following its failed takeover of rival Intu Properties.

** Dutch private equity group Waterland is launching the sale of Median Kliniken, Germany’s largest private-sector chain of post-acute care clinics, in a deal potentially worth more than 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion), people close to the matter said.

** Bahrain’s Bank Alkhair has sold its majority stake in Turkish investment firm Alkhair Capital a decade after it entered the market, as the Islamic lender streamlines its business lines and exits some markets.

** Steel giant ArcelorMittal said it had accepted new conditions set by Italian authorities for the purchase of troubled steelmaker Ilva, in a move that could facilitate its acquisition of Europe’s largest steel plant.

** French bank Credit Agricole is set to buy 5 percent of Credito Valtellinese (Creval) and sign a life insurance partnership with the mid-sized Italian bank, the MF daily reported.

** Finnish fibre materials company Ahlstrom-Munksjo has agreed to buy U.S. specialty paper maker Expera from KPS Capital Partners for $615 million to boost its growth in North America, the companies said.

** Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov is exploring a sale of his 30 percent stake in English football club Arsenal, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the billionaire’s thinking.

** The co-founder of British fashion retailer Superdry , has sold a 6.7 percent stake in the company, reducing his holding to 18.5 percent.

** Italian hearing aid maker Amplifon SpA said it agreed to buy privately owned peer GAES Group for an equity value of 528 million euros ($616.6 million), in a bid to enter the Latin American markets and become the No.1 player in Spain.

** M&G Real Estate, a unit of insurance giant Prudential Plc , said it had acquired an office building in Seoul for $1.04 billion. (Compiled by Sanjana Shivdas and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru)